This report of the chimney tax in the third
ward of New Orleans, December 31, 1797, shows that there were 717 chimneys in the 259 buildings located
within the ward. At twelve reales per chimney, the tax added just over 1,075 pesos to the municipal
treasury
that year. Since at least 1794 street lighting services had been funded by a tax based on the number of
chimneys in each of the city's buildings. In the long run, however, the chimney tax proved to be a less than
reliable source of funding for the lighting department, especially following the fire of 1794. After making
several adjustments in the structure of the chimney levy, the Cabildo abandoned it in 1798 in favor of a
voluntary tax on the city's butchers and bakers.

Throughout most of the Spanish period the men responsible for maintaining the streetlights also served as
the city's night police. When they were not keeping the lamps adequately supplied with fish oil, bear fat and
pelican grease, the watchmen were on the lookout for fires and a variety of suspicious characters. For their
efforts, they were paid a monthly salary of fifteen pesos (twenty pesos for the Corporal in
charge).[Miscellaneous French and Spanish Documents, #42]